The world’s national debts, from safest to most risky

Bank of America’s Transforming World Atlas has loads of lovely infographics in it, but one of the most colourful is a map of the world’s riskiest sovereign debt.

The map uses the prices of credit-default swaps, which are derivatives that pay out if a borrower defaults.

Here’s the map:

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Sovereign credit-default swaps have been used as a type of insurance against sovereign governments not paying back the money they owe. As with any insurance product, the more expensive it is, the more likely the event you’re insuring against will happen soon.

Venezuelan debt is by far the most risky, costing twice as much as Greek or Ukrainian debt to insure.

The graphic also shows just how far Spain and Ireland have come. The market thinks their debt is pretty risk-free, with lower CDS spreads than Italy or Portugal. The Spanish economy is going through a bit of a revival after suffering a devastating housing crash and unemployment crisis.

This article is published in collaboration with Business Insider. Publication does not imply endorsement of views by the World Economic Forum.

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Author: Ben Moshinsky is a finance reporter at Business Insider.